Cheating in bass tournaments is stealing

To be honest with you, the story someone
sent to me on Facebook tickled me to death. It was with great joy that I read
an article that said a Minnesota judge had sentenced a fisherman to jail after
he admitted that he cheated in a fishing tournament.

What surprised me was that the reactions
from my non-fishing friends weren't nearly as enthusiastic.

Let me start by saying that I despise
cheaters. I doesn't matter if people cheat in the business world, in a fishing
tournament or even playing UNO with their family and friends. I don't like it.

The story said that the 72-year-old
Minnesota fisherman, who some had long suspected of cheating in tournaments,
pleaded guilty to a felony charge of theft by swindle for bringing two
previously caught pike to the Park Rapid American Legion Community Fishing
Derby.

The story didn't say how much money the
man won by cheating. I don't really think it matters. Stealing is stealing.

"Your
conduct had a major impact on these fishing tournaments," Judge Robert Tiffany
told the man. "I hope you realize the seriousness of your conduct."

Cheating, the judge said, takes the
enjoyment and joy out of it for those who bring their kids and other honest
participants.

That's a nice point judge, but the real
issue here was that the man was attempting to steal money from others. I see it
being no different than him walking into a convenience store, grabbing some
money out of the cash register and running.

The man faced a maximum penalty of five
years in jail and/or a $10,000 fine. Instead the judge gave him a week in jail,
four years probation and a $200 fine. Personally, I wish that the man had
received the maximum sentence.

I was telling friends about the story the
other day and I must say I was shocked at their reaction. I was told that I was
nuts and that it was just a fishing tournament. I was told that our court
system is too busy with important things to be tied up with something as
unimportant as someone cheating in a fishing tournament.

I
suppose I should have expected that from people who have never plopped down
their money to fish in a tournament. When you do that you expect to be playing
on a level playing field. Someone who cheats to win is stealing. There's no
other way to look at it. The court should deal with thieves.

One
of the most troubling moments of my life occurred in a Crappiethon USA
tournament on Weiss Lake years ago. Someone fixed me up with a partner who was
an expert fishing on the lake. We were having a good day and I felt like we
might be in contention for the win.

That
afternoon the fishermen turned around and told me to come look at something. I
went to the front of the boat and he showed me a crappie weighing about 2 ½
pounds that was lying on its side in the water and gasping for air. The man let
out line, guided the jig into the fish's mouth and set the hook. He unhooked
the fish, tossed it to me and told me to put it in the live well.

I
asked if that was legal. He said the rules say the fish has to be hooked in the
mouth and the fish was still alive. Sure, it was legal, he said.

That
bothered me. I'm sure a jury would say it was legal according to the rules, but
the rules weren't the issue. I knew if we won the tournament we would be
required to take a polygraph test. I wasn't sure that I could pass even though
technically it was probably a legal fish.

After
about 30 minutes of worry I opened the live well, took the fish out and threw
it back into the water. The man got mad. I explained to him if I failed a
polygraph test at a fishing tournament my career as an outdoors writer would be
over.

I
must say I was relieved when we didn't win the tournament. I will always wonder
if I could have passed that polygraph even after throwing that fish back.

I
don't consider myself a saint but I do consider myself a typical fisherman that
occasionally fishes in tournaments. We all want to win but the vast majority of
us would never consider cheating or even bending the rules.

Those
that don't believe in such are thieves and should be dealt with accordingly. Jail
time is fine by me.